Where Are They Now: Harold Hansen

WHO HE WAS: General manager of Peoria Civic Center and Peoria Rivermen.

AGE: 64

TODAY: Lives in Chicago with wife, April. He is director of Life Safety and Security for the International Association of Venue Managers, whom he joined in 2005. "I manage and develop safety and security plans for arenas, venues," Hansen said. "Since 9/11 we've become very conscious of security and crowd control for venues and major events."

CIVIC CENTER GROUND FLOOR: Hansen was at the helm when the Peoria Civic Center hosted its first arena event — a Kenny Rogers concert in 1982 — and stayed through the late 1990s. They were sometimes turbulent times as the facility struggled financially in its early years and Hansen also served as overseer to the Civic Center-owned Peoria Rivermen hockey team.

The hockey team is still alive, and the Civic Center is in the final weeks of celebrating its 30th anniversary.

"There was a whole concept that took shape the night we launched with Kenny Rogers, it changed downtown Peoria forever," Hansen said. "At 5:03 p.m. Peoria didn't roll up its streets and die downtown anymore. Before 1981, you could have bowled in the streets downtown after 5 p.m. I think the Civic Center is the catalyst to all the good things that have happened down there in these 30 years. I firmly believe there wouldn't be the riverfront development that has taken place without that facility there.

"I was down there for a 20-year celebration of the Civic Center, and I've been there recently to see the (renovations) in the lobby and I'm proud of how it looks and continues to serve the community."

ON THE RIVERMEN: "We went through hell to keep that hockey team alive," Hansen said. "I'm impressed it has stayed alive. And I'm proud to see it's still going. Overall, with the facility I think we did great things. Were the finances the way everyone expected? No. Did things always go smoothly? No. But both the Rivermen and the Civic Center have gone on to be central assets to the community."

PARTING SHOT: "I still get to Peoria once in a while. I learned to sail, in Lake Illinois, while I was there, and I took that passion with me. My wife and I have a 38-foot Catalina on Lake Michigan now, we spend our summers sailing."

— Dave Eminian

(deminian@pjstar.com)

Where Are They Now is published each Monday. Recommend a subject for this column via email to sports@pjstar.com. Include "WATN" in the subject line.